Well screen



Sept 9, .1924. 1,507,580

W. H. CATER WELL SCREEN Filed Dec. 5, 1923 Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. CATER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WELL sonnuu.

Application filed December 5, 1923. Serial No. 878,583.

vof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Well Screens, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention concerns well screens or casings of the foraininous or perforated type which are driven or forced down into the ground during the well-sink ing operation, the apertures through the casing or screen wall allowing water or other liquids to flow inwardly or outwardly through such wall.

This passage of the liquid through these perforations facilitates the descent of the screen or casing, and it is also used to clean such apertures or slots to free them from obstructions by suddenly forcing the liquid outwardly therethrough.

One object of the invention is the production orprovision of an apertured wellscreen or perforated casing of this style which by reason of itsstructural features assists in keeping its slots or openings free from cloggingor obstructing materials.

To this end, therefore, the structure ismade in such a way as to'provide slots which are more or less shielded b parts of the casing during its downwar sinking, thereby tending to free the slots from chokin or blocking bodies or particles.

in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the slots are made in pairsby deflecting a metal strip out of the plane of the metal sheet forming the casing, leaving slots or openings through the latter along the 0posite edges of the strip, each such strip cing tapered with its wider end .disposed downwardly, thereby providing a pair of upwardly-converging slots or openings.

It will be seen, therefore, that during the sinking or downward forcing of the screen or casing in the usual way by means of an internal pump and suction action around the lower edge of the casing, the wider, lower edges or borders of the outwardlydeflected metal stri 8 cut paths in the surrounding earth slig tly wider than the other or upper parts of the strips, thus tending to leave small gaps in the earth around th slots along the edges of suchstrips. I

Stated somewhat differently, these metal strips integral with the sheet-metal casing or screen plow furrows or grooves in the earth wider than the main portions of such stri s, hence tending to keep the dirt, gravel or e like away from direct intimate contact with the metal around or bordering the pairs of conver ing slots or ertorations.

Another object of the new and improved form of structure is to make the sheet-metal screen or casin of substantially uniform strength throng out its length, whereby no part or section is weaker than any other, and hence not more likely to give way, crush orrupture under the rather severe strains and stresses to which it is subjected.

A further purpose of the, invention is the provision of a foraminous sheet-metal shell or casing which is easier to force down into the earth than those types of reticulated screens in more common use. An added aim of the invention isthe production of a screen orfcasin of this form which ossesses greater than t e customary streng't throughout, hence, in some cases permitting the employment of a thinner gauge of metal than has heretofore been usual.

Still another advantage accruing from the employment of the new screen or casing is the certainty of making connection with any water or other liquid" vein, no matter how narrow or shallow it ma be.

To enable those skilled in this art to have a full and complete understanding of the present invention and the several structural and functional advantages accruing fromits' use, in the accom anymg drawing forming a part of this specification, I have illustrated a. desirable and preferred embodiment of the invention, like reference characters being used throughout the several views to, designate the same parts.

In this drawing,-

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a portion. of a well-screen constructed in accordance with the principles of this inven-' tion;

Fig. 2 is a verticalv section, on an enlarged scale, on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the arts being viewed in the direction indicate by the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, on line 33 of 1, the structure being viewed in the direction designated by the arrows.

Referring now to this drawing, it will be be observed that the main body of the metal sheet and the.

opposite margins or borders of a lengthwisetapered strip or section pressed outwardly beyond the plane of the sheet, the wider end of such strip'being arranged downwardly.

These metal strips or hands and their associated slots or elongated apertures are disposed in longitudinal and transverse rows or lines, as is fully illustrated, and it will the strips and their complementary slots of each lengthwise row are individually ofi'set longitudinally with re spect to the strips and their openings of the rows on opposite sides thereof, with the opposite end portions of each strip and its slots overlapping or extending lengthwise beyond the ends of the adjacent strips, both above and below it, of such adjoining transverse rows.

In this way a screen is provided which is of substantially uniform strength throughout without any unduly weak sections and without any such frail portions coupled with much stronger intervening sections.

Expressed otherwise, the new and improved casing'or screen has no impertorate,

' transverse bands or zones flanked-above and below by weaker or more frail slott'ed or,

apertured sections, as is more or less customary in the usual practice.

It will be perceived that in this new screen the narrower ends of the strips overlap the wider ends of neighboring or contiguous strips, thus avoiding weakening the metal unduly at any point or location.

. strips force tion,

During the well sinking or driving operaat which time the perforated casing, preferably weighted, descends stepby step owing-to the suction action of the pump used inside of the casing. the lower, larger or wider parts of the outwardly-deflected metal the earth out of the way, so

that as the rect contact with the margins of the grooves,

hence tending to prevent the slots trom be coming clogged or stopped up.

Without repeating here the several ad- 13 of the metal.-

1 strips and their openings or slots descend in the plowed-out grooves vantages incident-to the employment of a well screen or casing of the form depicted and illustrated, which has been presented hereinbefore somewhat in detail, it will be seen that all of them are present in proved and novel'structure set forth.

Those skilled in this art will readily ap preciate that many minor mechanical changes mav be made'in the structure illus trated and described without departure from the heart and essence of the invention and without the sacrifice of any of its substantial benefits and advantages.

in so far as the new and improved screen has been set forth above with respect to its advantages, the latter have been confined to the use of the screen or casing after it has been produced, but it is to be observed that, because the deformed or outwardly-pressed metal strips are tapered, they can, more readily be separated from the co-operating punches and dies which produce them, by reason of a slight lengthwise movement of the metal sheet with relation thereto, the release of the sheet occurring more easily than in those structures having similar metal strips of uniform width.

I claim:

1. A foraminous sheet-metal well-screen, adapted for descent in the earth during the driving of'the well, having a sheet-metal wall equipped with a plurality of spaced longitudinallytapered lengthwise strips of the metal sheet ositioned out of the plane of the sheet, the ends of such strips being integral with the thereby providing two converging slots through the metal along the opposite margins of each strip.

2. A foraminous sheet-metal well-screen, adapted for descent in the earth during the driving of the well, having a sheet-metal wall equipped with a plurality of spaced longitudinally-tapcred lengthwise strips of the metal sheet positioned out of the plane of the sheet. the ends of such strips being integral with the body of the metal sheet, thereby providing two converging slots through the metal along the opposite edges or each such strip. the ends of said strips of the imbody of the metal sheet,

greater width being disposed toward the WILLIAM H. CATER. [n s] 

